YVR top performing airport in Canada: UBC study

Bruce Constantineau, Vancouver Sun07.30.2013

University of B.C. researchers have ranked Vancouver International Airport as the top performing airport in Canada, while naming Atlanta International as the most efficient airport in the world for the 10th year in a row.

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A rising Canadian dollar has hurt Vancouver International Airport’s efficiency rating among North American airports, but YVR remains the top-performing major airport in Canada and the sixth best performer in North America, according to University of B.C. aviation experts.

In previous years, Vancouver topped all North American airports in the annual ATRS Global Airport Benchmarking Report, but higher costs caused by a rising Canadian currency have forced a slight drop in its continental ranking.

“YVR remains a consistently good performer, certainly when compared with any other Canadian airport,” said UBC Sauder School of Business professor Tae Oum, who led the study

The report considered several factors in determining operating efficiency, including productivity, cost competitiveness, and airport user charges.

Oum said the most efficient airports get more than half their total revenues from non-aviation sources such as concessions, parking, office rent and real estate development. That can lead to lower charges for airlines and passengers.

The report found Vancouver derived 54 per cent of total 2011 revenues from non-aviation sources, compared with 46 per cent at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, and just 33 per cent at Pearson International Airport in Toronto.

Oum said Toronto’s airport efficiency has been hurt by a massive, multi-year expansion project that did not allow for a lot of new retail space to boost non-aviation revenues. Pearson Airport completed an eight-year, $4.4-billion expansion in 2008.

“They have high costs, so they have to charge high prices, otherwise they’d lose money,” Oum said.

He noted Toronto charged nearly $2,000 in landing fees for a Boeing 737-800 last year, compared with about $700 in Montreal and $400 in Vancouver.

Oum said Toronto’s landing fees are the highest in North America and Europe, and not far behind the fees charged at Tokyo’s Narita airport and Osaka’s Kansai airport.

The total amount airports charged to airlines in 2011 worked out to $14.11 US per passenger in Vancouver, $21.98 US per passenger in Montreal and $33.34 US per passenger in Toronto. Victoria airport had the lowest per-passenger costs in Canada, at about $7 US.

While Vancouver was considered the sixth-most efficient North American airport, Montreal and Toronto were both around 65th place among 77 U.S. and Canadian airports examined in the study.

The report studied 195 airports and 26 airport groups in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania.

Atlanta International Airport, which generates 63 per cent of its revenue from non-aviation activities, was found to be the world’s most efficient airport for the 10th year in a row.

Minneapolis-St. Paul and Charlotte-Douglas airports were the second- and third-most efficient North American airports that handle more than 15 million passengers a year.

Copenhagen, Athens and Zurich were the top three European airports, while Seoul-Gimpo, Incheon and Guam airports were the top three in Asia. Sydney, Auckland and Townsville were the three most efficient airports in Oceania.

Victoria airport, which handles about one-tenth the number of passengers as Vancouver, had the highest percentage of non-aviation revenue among Canadian facilities, with 66 per cent of revenues coming from non-aviation sources.

That placed it ninth among 77 North American airports, with Oklahoma City airport topping the list with 71 per cent of revenues coming from non-aeronautical sources.

Oum noted the most efficient U.S. airports can charge surprisingly low landing fees for certain aircraft, with Charlotte-Douglas charging about $200 US for a Boeing 767-400 to land last year, compared with about $1,200 US in Vancouver and $5,000 US in Toronto.

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